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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

Presented with three investment options, it’s fairly obvious which one many involved at Leeds would prefer.

Option one is the potential purchase of a stake from the owners of PSG, QSI, a firm that gained over €542mÂ(£467.1m) in revenue during the 2017/18 campaign.

The second option is a supporter based in America and the third is more Italian investment, but from an individual that currently owns a club in that region.

That’s according to their current owner Andrea Radrizzani, anyway.

He told The Times this week that QSI could put Leeds on a level that would compete with Manchester City. However, their third option bears similarities to darker days and Massimo Cellino. There’s no prize for guessing the preferred choice.

But not only would it be up there in comparison to their former controversial owner, but it also looks like a short-term plan, as opposed to one that helps them compete over an extended period of time.

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Radrizzani said: “Another one is the owner of an Italian club. With another club you can create synergy to be more competitive and to target the Premier League — we could maybe get a loan to increase the quality of the team.”

Cellino owned Cagliari for 22 years, a few months of which crossed over with his tenure at Leeds – a time in their history where they were subdued to mid-table mediocrity and controversy wherever the Italian went.

At one stage he was deemed ineligible to be an owner or director by the EFL as they cited his handling of money.

An official statement in 2014 read: “Mr. Cellino was recently found guilty beyond reasonable doubt by a Court in Sardinia of an offence under Italian tax legislation relating to the non-payment of import duties on a boat.”

That isn’t to suggest that all owners of a football club in Italy are of a farcical nature but he did implement a pie tax on supporters. He also sold a player after one training session and refused to sign someone because he was born on the 17th day of the month.

It was a completely ludicrous time in the memory of supporters and it could all come flooding back too – certainly, that seems to be the case already.

Radrizzani is left with a highly promising option in QSI but he could ultimately land investment from a similar source that once caused the club so much chaos.

However, that only scratches the surface of the issues that reside in this third opportunity he’s spoken about.

Managing to establish a link with another team on the continent would be cunning but that stinks of a team happy to sit in the Championship, not one who actually wants to compete in the top-flight.

The sheer revenue QSI earn at PSG dictates the effects could be felt at Leeds for a long time.

It would presumably allow them to purchase highly-rated players, rather than simply loaning them in for a temporary stay.

Even if Radrizzani would prefer investment now, Leeds need something fresh and exciting. They need investment capable of taking them towards a bright new future, not from someone that reminds fans of darker times.

Cellino was a horrible anomaly but if bringing someone in from the corrupt nature of Italian football failed at the first time of asking, it would be foolish to explore a similar boat.

For Leeds’ grounded owner, QSI must be their only option – it could just well transform them.

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…

It’s official. Jack Ross has lost the fans, and it now feels like only a matter of time before the Sunderland boss is replaced.

After getting demolished by Peterborough and then bouncing back with a good result at Accrington Stanley, Ross’ Black Cats had the perfect chance to rack up some points and gain some ground on the teams above them.

A home clash against Rotherham followed by a trip to whipping boys Bolton should realistically be six points for a side chasing promotion with one of the biggest budgets and squads in the division, yet both games were quite simply dire from a Sunderland perspective.

The draw at the University of Bolton Stadium was particularly damning for the gaffer, as he and his team were booed off the pitch by their own support despite snatching a late goal, and some fans even joined in at one point when the home supporters chanted ‘sacked in the morning’.

Looking on Twitter after the fact, it’s clear that those frustrations haven’t wavered now that the dust has settled and the initial fume has cleared.

After fan site Roker Report asked fans if he deserves to stay, barely a few of the more than 65 replies suggested he has even the slightest hope of turning things around.

As one of those fans so aptly pointed out, the manager is struggling enough as it is, and fighting a war on two fronts – one to get the players firing and one to get the fans behind him – is simply not viable.

Once a club’s home ground becomes a “poisonous” place to play, there is really only so much a manager can do, and for all his tactical failings in recent times, the fact that he has now completely lost such a passionate fan base really says it all – it’s time to go.

This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…

Danny Mills has questioned Liverpool’s midfield, raising concerns over their lack of creativity and goal threat.

What’s he said?

Speaking to Sky Sports (October 2, 11:26am), the former Leeds United and Manchester City man questioned the lack of attacking prowess in Jurgen Klopp’s favoured midfield trio.

“That three as it stands at the moment, with Henderson, Fabinho, and Wijnaldum, is there enough creativity in that?

“Is there enough goals in that? Wijnaldum might get a few, we’ve seen that. Henderson I don’t think is going to score too many. Fabinho is not going to score too many, and also they’re not going to create.”

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Thanks Sherlock

It’s hard to disagree with Mills purely from a factual perspective – Jordan Henderson, Georginio Wijnaldum and Fabinho combined for just five goals and five assists last season in the Premier League, or ten direct goal contributions.

To put that into perspective, Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne already has two league goals and eight assists this campaign from a position on the right side of the Citizens’ midfield three, matching the Reds trio’s output from all of last year.

However, Liverpool are not designed to get goals and assists from midfield. Trent Alexander-Arnold and Andy Robertson produce most of the chances with 23 league assists between them last term, while the front three do all the goalscoring.

Combining the last two seasons with the beginning of this campaign, Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane have scored a truly ridiculous 124 top-flight goals. That’s the equivalent of having two 30-goal strikers each year who have then grabbed two each at the beginning of this season.

So, while Mills is correct, Klopp’s workhorse midfield is poor at creating and scoring goals, that simply isn’t what they are in the team to do, nor do they need to do it to be successful.

Maybe it’s because he’s a former Man City player or maybe he simply hasn’t watched Liverpool enough, but this seems a really pointless and somewhat bizarre observation from Detective Sherlock Mills.

Many Barcelona fans don’t really seem to like Ernesto Valverde all that much. In fact, they don’t like him at all, and their latest social media activity is probably proof enough.It all happened when Tribuna released their newest coach power ranking and compiled a list of 20 best managers in Europe.Blaugrana’s coach found his way onto the list as he was ranked 12th among some other high-profile coaches.Watch Spanish Football Live Streams With StreamFootball.tv Below

And lots of Barcelona fans were quick to jump to social media and Twitter to voice their disappointment over the final results and also give their own opinions on where exactly should Valverde rank.

Of course, the fact that some of the coaches, who they believed were much better than Valverde, were ranked below him seemed to bother them a lot.

Some even think that the Ant should not even be near the top 20 and they made sure their voices were heard.

You can see some of their reactions in the collection of tweets below.

Check them out…

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This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets… 

One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity and that appears to be the case over at the City Ground at the minute.

Carl Jenkinson has surprisingly been ruled out of action for the next few weeks despite not featuring over the international break so Matty Cash duly stepped in to fill the void at right-back again.

The 22-year-old was utilised there before the arrival of the former Arsenal man on the eve of deadline day last month.

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Nottingham Forest managed to record one of the upsets of the weekend, beating then league leaders Swansea by a single goal on their own patch.

Alfa Semedo’s late strike meant that they put an end to the Swans’ unbeaten run whilst also putting the rest of the Championship on notice.

Reds boss Sabri Lamouchi made as many as five changes with the shock exclusions of Jack Robinson and Joe Lolley, but it ultimately paid off and Cash played a huge role.

Despite swapping the defence around, Forest managed to keep a clean sheet – against what was the league’s highest goalscorers too.

In reality, their industrious and astute defending left Reds shot-stopper Brice Samba without much to do, restricting the home side to only nine shots, just one of which being on target.

Cash at right-back recorded a passing accuracy rating of 78.3% whilst registering four clearances, the second-most in the side, and one tackle, per WhoScored.

Both of Forest’s clean sheets in the Championship this season have come when the 6 foot 1 ace is playing at right-back so maybe it is time to make a claim on that position being his own going forward.

It would certainly allow the likes of Albert Adomah, Joe Lolley and Joao Carvalho all to feature higher up the pitch.

Jenkinson could soon find himself in a similar situation to the one he faced at Arsenal whereby he wasn’t able to break into the first-team lineup because of the talent ahead of him – he made just 70 appearances in around eight years, often finding himself a neglected figure.

He may be an out-and-out defender, but Cash’s performances of late should warrant a decent run in the side – why change something that worked against one of the most in-form sides in the division this season?

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Ewan Henderson is set to sign a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Celtic, sources have told Football FanCast.

The youngster’s current deal expires in the summer with Henderson concerned about the amount of midfielders at the club and the pathway to the first team.

Those issues affected the development of his older brother Liam, who left Celtic a year ago for Bari before moving on to Verona.

Brendan Rodgers gave Ewan his first team debut last season, a month after his 18th birthday, and has gone out of his way to make him feel wanted.

The Celtic boss took the younger Henderson brother to Dubai with the first team squad then gave him game time in the matches against Airdrie and St Mirren. Against Airdrie he sent through the pass for Timo Weah to score his first Celtic goal.

With a new contract settling his future, Henderson will be looking to build on his recent first team appearances before assessing his prospects for next season.

Despite his obvious ability Henderson has only made four appearances for Scotland’s U17 and U19 squads.

Touch of class there from Milner, who has again consolidated his status as one of the most likable individuals in the Reds’ squad.

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Aston Villa look set to pip the likes of Chelsea and Everton by winning the race for Dundee United defender Kerr Smith.

That’s according to The Daily Record’s Scott Burns, with a number of Villa fans reacting to the news on social media.

Villa have lost a centre-back this month with Axel Tuanzebe cutting his season-long loan short in order to join Napoli but appear to be closing in on Everton left-back Lucas Digne.

That leaves Steven Gerrard with Kortney Hause, Ezri Konsa and Tyrone Mings as senior options, but it appears as if they will bolster their academy ranks with the acquisition of Smith.

Burns has revealed that Johan Lange has struck an agreement with Dundee United for the 17-year-old centre-back in a deal that could rise to £2m.

Smith is now set to travel to the Midlands to undergo a medical and finalise a ‘dream move’, with Villa pipping the likes of Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Everton and Southampton.

The youngster will initially integrate with Villa’s Under-23 side, despite making 12 senior appearances for Dundee United.

Villa fans react

@villareport shared the update regarding Smith on Twitter. This is what these fans had to say in reply, with one labelling the defender as a ‘beast’.

“£2m? Scottish club? Tasty”

Credit: @Jannetts_

“He’s a beast on football manager, so I’m more than ok with this”

Credit: @DaleAC93

“BOOM! Love this.”

Credit: @PhilHRoberts

“Him, Digne and a DM and I’m absolutely buzzing, 10/10”

Credit: @TomC2312_AVFC

“Good deal, very good deal”

Credit: @_VillaJack

“my football manager CB hero coming home, there’s a tear in my eye”

Credit: @tiwari0216

In other news: ‘This is a shock’ – Many Villa fans ‘buzzing’ as club confirm ‘big’ news. 

Aston Villa announced the signing of goalkeeper Robin Olsen on Tuesday evening.

And a number of Villa fans were quick to give their thoughts to the club’s fourth January addition on social media.

The 32-year-old has joined Philippe Coutinho, Lucas Digne and Kerr Smith in moving to the Midlands in 2022, signing on loan until the end of the season.

Steven Gerrard was after a back-up goalkeeper this month to work alongside Emiliano Martinez and Jed Steer and has got his wish with the Sweden international.

Olsen spent the first half of the season with Championship side Sheffield United, where he made 11 appearances. However, he fell out of favour at Bramall Lane, with the Blades willing to cut his stay in Yorkshire short, with Villa now sealing a temporary move from parent club AS Roma.

Villa fans react

This is what these Villa supporters had to say in reply to the club’s official post on Olsen, with one ‘excited’ and another labelling it as ‘decent’.

“I don’t think people understand how great this signing is, allows Sinsalo to go out on loan and get first team football, also Olsen in himself is a great keeper and he’s obviously aware he’s come to be a back up and that’s a great mentality for him to do that.”

Credit: @JPAvfc_

“We’ve actually broken Lange”

Credit: @AzariaJohnson14

“Wow hope he can push for number 1 good to have 2 good gk”

Credit: @villamadfan

“What a busy window this has been, I’m so excited about this team”

Credit: @Hydracronis

“Decent cover for Martinez, was decent for Everton last season, didn’t work out for him at Sheffield United this season, will provide some mentoring to younger Villa keepers. Welcome Robin Olsen”

Credit: @Villaboy89

“Another new player in through the door”

Credit: @TalkTrinity

In other news: ‘£25m’ – Many Villa fans react as EPL rivals eye move for pacey 26 y/o. 

As per reliable reporter Scott Burns, writing for the Scottish Daily Express, some news has come to light on Southampton’s transfer plans for January involving Rangers star Joe Aribo.

The Lowdown: Semmens eyeing winter moves?

As the winter window looms, Southampton chief Martin Semmens, who oversees the club’s transfer activity, has already hinted that the Saints could be active business-wise as he aims to bolster manager Ralph Hasenhuttl’s chances of Premier League survival.

Sitting just six points above the drop zone, Hasenhuttl’s men will potentially be looking to strengthen if the right opportunity arises, with links emerging to a few names like Angers wonderkid Mohamed-Ali Cho.

Now, as per an update from north of the border, another claim has emerged on the Saints’ transfer plans.

The Latest: Semmens eyeing Aribo bid…

According to Burns, Southampton, and by extension Semmens, are ‘weighing up a move’ for Gers star Aribo and they even had a representative sent to watch him in action at the weekend.

Standing out for the Teddy Bears this season, Southampton already have a number of reports on the midfielder as they keep tabs on his situation ahead of January.

The Verdict: Time to move?

The 25-year-old has been one of Rangers’ players of the season so far, making more SPFL appearances than anyone in their squad so far whilst averaging the second-highest rate of dribbles completed per 90 and scoring the second-most goals (WhoScored).

His contract is also expiring in 18 months, putting some pressure on the Ibrox side to contemplate a sale while they still can.

The Nigeria international, lauded as ‘red hot’ by pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor for his form this season, could well be an astute purchase for Southampton if they can negotiate a realistic price.

In other news: ‘Worst player we have’…Southampton fans blast ‘terrible’ player after recent ‘stinker’, find out more here.